


Mi casa es maybe not really su casa

by Stralia_Harker



Series: Giving it Their All [6]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Boys In Love, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Model Steve, Modern AU, Moving In Together, rockstar billy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:54:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27416089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stralia_Harker/pseuds/Stralia_Harker
Summary: The boys find that moving in together is a little overwhelming.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Series: Giving it Their All [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1880374
Kudos: 42





	Mi casa es maybe not really su casa

**Author's Note:**

> Just some more nonsense from these two.

Billy was pacing, he’d smoked a pack and a half already, he was about to break out Steve’s vape pen. Steve still wasn’t answering him and he didn’t know what to do about it. What he wanted to do was fix it, this had been their first real fight and Billy wanted to get to the making up. Wanted Steve back in his arms. But he wasn’t panicking, at least not yet. They may not have been boyfriends for long, but they’d been best friends for years and he knew that counted for something. He sent off one last text.

“I’m sorry. I love you. Come home when you’re ready.”

Steve was seething, he needed something but he had no clue what, no idea what to do with the pent up emotions running through him. He had left without grabbing anything but his jacket, luckily his wallet was in the pocket and his phone had been on him. Except now it was getting on his nerves because it wouldn’t stop buzzing. He hadn’t even looked at it, he knew all the messages were from Billy. He knew he was trying to backpedal, tell him he didn’t mean it, that he was sorry. And maybe he was, but Steve needed to think, because Billy’s words stung because they weren’t deliberate, they’d just slipped out. And those were usually the times when the truth was out. 

He was talking himself out of a spiral, he hadn’t had one in so long, and he wasn’t about to start now. He had left and originally intended on just going for a walk, wanting to clear his head. Then he decided it might be better just to get a room for the night. This way he could pull himself together. He could sit and actually think rational thoughts as opposed to the worst-case scenarios that could sometimes run through his head. The one thing he held onto, above everything else, was their friendship. They could overcome this, he knew he’d hate it if they broke up, but as long as he could keep some of that friendship intact they’d be ok. He finally checked his phone, seeing Billy’s last text. He held down the urge to make a snarky reply and turned out the light. 

Billy woke up at 3 am, he immediately realized that Steve was not in bed. He got up hoping that maybe he was in the guest room or on the couch. His heart sank when he realized Steve was still nowhere to be found. His only hope was that he hadn’t flown back to New York. He chanced a look at his phone and found that while Steve hadn’t replied he had at least read the messages. He looked around the apartment, boxes everywhere. He thought about putting Steve’s stuff up, but maybe he should wait to see where they stood. Steve just got here and now he might already be leaving. What a mess he and his big mouth made. This is why his therapist told him to think before he spoke. 

He lay back in bed, knowing he probably wouldn’t sleep, he could at least rest. Maybe he could come up with some way to make it up to Steve, to show him that he hadn’t meant what he said. It came out wrong and he just needed a chance to explain. He grabbed his cigarettes, noting he was down to his last two. Two packs in one night, he was stressed. He could just see Steve shaking his head, telling him those would kill him, and mess with his voice. He was itching for a drink but was afraid once started he wouldn’t stop, not when he was feeling like this. And he wanted to be sober when Steve finally called or came back. He finished his cigarette and rolled over, staring at Steve’s empty spot next to him. He hoped Steve was sleeping. 

Steve was in fact sleeping. He had been tired between running errands and trying to get his stuff unpacked; his day had already been busy. The fight with Billy hadn’t really been taxing. There were only a few words said before Steve left. It was the aftermath that had taken a lot out, walking around, then trying to find a place to stay for the night. He had thought about calling Max or Dustin but they were living in dorms and he didn’t want them getting involved, not yet. He woke up to the sound of his alarm blaring. He thought about showering but he didn’t have a change of clothes. He needed to go back to Billy’s.

He decided to go get some breakfast first, have a coffee, and finish collecting his thoughts. He knew what he wanted to tell Billy but wasn’t sure about how to say it. He wanted to get this right and give Billy a chance to explain himself as well. If he wanted any of this to work out he had to be willing to listen, had to remember not to lead with his emotions. He hated this, always hated fighting with Billy. It didn’t happen often but usually, when you fight with your significant other you can run and vent to your best friend. It was a little hard when your significant other was also your best friend. He wanted to bounce his thoughts of someone, he could call Robin or Nancy but he really didn’t want to. He wanted to talk to Billy. He sent him a text as he left the hotel.

“I’ll be back at your place in like an hour. We can talk this out then.” 

“Your place.” Billy had read the text and wanted to kick himself when he read that. Steve was calling it your place, and not home. That was Billy’s fault. He really wanted to bang his head against the counter. He opted to take a shower and brush his teeth, if this went well there would be a lot of dirty make-up sex. He had a lot of groveling to do. 

He finished his shower and got dressed, not wanting to look like he was assuming anything. Billy knew Steve would be upset if it looked like he assumed he was forgiven after one night apart. And really, Billy knew they had to have a conversation first, they need to fix the problem, not delay it with sex. He was nervous, he’d never really had to fix anything before. The only other times he’d been told by someone they needed to talk, had been by Neil and talking meant Neil yelling, and Billy getting taught respect. Realistically Billy knew this was not going to end that way, still, it unsettled him a little. He felt a pang of guilt when he heard a knock at the front door.

Steve made it back to the apartment, he had a key but decided to knock, figured until they had this conversation he should do that. Billy opened the door, he looked like he wanted to grab Steve and hug him, but he was holding back, not sure where they stood yet. He stepped back and let Steve into the apartment. Steve took his jacket off and put it on the hook by the door. He really wanted a shower, but he decided to get the talk over with first. He wanted everything in the open and wanted to know exactly where they were going. He headed to the living room, Billy following closely.

“So, I guess we should talk about last night.” Steve started. 

“I’m not sure where to start, don’t exactly know what to say.”

“Ok. Well, I’ll start and just let me get finished. It might be easier if you know where my head is at.” Billy nodded so Steve continued.

“So I get it if you changed your mind. It’s a big step and I know I’m your first real relationship. And we’ve been long distance. You haven’t lived with anyone since you left the dorms. Sometimes things sound good in theory, but in practice, they’re not what you thought they would be. I don’t want to break up, this isn’t worth breaking up over, but I also don’t want to live here if you don’t want me here. I’ve lived where I wasn’t wanted before. Not up to doing it again and that would break us up eventually.” Billy took in everything Steve said, grateful that this wasn’t a breakup talk. So now if he could just maybe take his foot out of his mouth and let Steve know he did want him here it would be ok.

“I want you here Steve. I hated waking up and seeing your side of the bed empty when I knew you were in the same city. You stay here all the time when you come to town. I don’t know why I freaked out last night, I don’t know why somehow this is different.” 

“Maybe cuz all my shit’s here now?”

“Maybe. Just, this was the first place that was mine. No roommates, Neil has no say in it. I got used to it I guess. I’ve never been in a relationship that lasted long enough to move in with each other. Hell, they never got to the stage where I’d clear a drawer.” 

“And now I’m here all up in your business.” Billy gave a little amused huff at that.

“You belong in my business, you’re a part of my business. I mean you’re up in more than my business sometimes, so I think you’ve earned the right.” Billy said.

“I don’t want you uncomfortable in your own home Billy, you’ve had enough of that in your lifetime. I want to be with you, but maybe we rushed this. I was on the other side of the country, staying here when I had a chance. Now I’m here. I don’t have to live here, I can get my own place here. Maybe I just need to be on the same coast for a while. And you know us, we’d always be at each other’s places anyway.”

“I want you with me. Do you want your own place? I can handle it if you do.” Billy asked.

“I want whatever is going to keep us together. I know it seems practical to live together if we’re always at each other’s places, but we’ve both got money, we can afford to be impractical. We are skipping that important drawer step. Maybe you need it, a slow transition into a shared space.” 

“I want you HERE. I feel like a toddler throwing a tantrum right now. I know yelled about you messing up my apartment. I think I just got overwhelmed. I’m so used to moving around and things being my way, it was a lot. But I want you here, I want to wake up to you, fall asleep next to you. I want to see your clothes in the hamper, find your magazines sitting everywhere. I want you here.”

“So I’m not the problem, my stuff is the problem. So let's compromise, I’ll go through my stuff, get everything I use regularly, and maybe a few personal items and we’ll keep that here. The rest I can put in storage.”

“Steve. I don’t want that, you live here too.”

“I think we should try it. All my important shit will be here. “

Billy reluctantly agreed, still not completely on board with the whole thing. It didn’t feel permanent. He sat with Steve and they went through his stuff together, Billy picking out some stuff that he didn’t have in the apartment. They went through Steve’s clothes and picked out essential pieces, and finally went through all his sentimental items, picking out a few pictures and knick-knacks so there was some of Steve in the place. It wasn’t perfect but it was a start.

It was the third time this month Steve had to go to the storage facility to find something in all his boxes. Billy felt like an ass every time and told Steve to just bring his stuff back over. Steve would just shake his head and tell him it was fine. What made it worse was Steve meant it, he wasn’t annoyed, it just was what it was. Aside from the issue of only part of Steve’s stuff is in the apartment they had been settling in nicely. They were finding a routine and happy to find they didn’t get on each other’s nerves. Billy found he really did like sharing the space with Steve, he made it feel like home. 

They were watching some home renovation thing on HGTV when the idea hit Billy in the face. He felt stupid for not thinking about it before, and it was such a simple answer that it should have been obvious. Though there were little touches of Steve throughout the apartment, overall it was still all Billy. It made sense, he’d picked the apartment out, he’d decorated, it was all done before he and Steve were together. It was a bachelor pad and Billy was no longer a bachelor.

“We should get a new place, something that’s ours,” Billy said.

“This is ours.”

“It’s really not. It’s all me, even with your stuff here, it’s still all me. I’m gonna say something but it’s not like last time. It’s more of an epiphany, this is still MY apartment. It’s the place I picked out, it’s all my style and taste. It’s very ‘cool rockstar’ and to be honest, I picked it out to impress the people I was fucking.” Steve let out a laugh.

“Well it is kind of a fuck pad, and you’re right about it definitely being your style and taste. You’re ok with giving it up? I mean, it’s very you.”

“I’m not a me anymore. There’s an us. So we need to go find a place and make it ours.” Steve smiled at him,

“Sap.” Steve smiled as he kissed Billy.


End file.
